[Marxism] Lou Dobbs on Danbury 11 Lawsuit against ICE Raid

[Naveen Jaganathan]

Simon Moshenberg, a law student at Yale is one of the people involved in the
Danbury 11 case, where the immigrants are suing the city over the sting
operation conducted by ICE. Here's an interview with him on Lou Dobbs
yesterday -- N>.

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http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0710/01/ldt.01.html

Danbury, Connecticut is under fire over its efforts to deal with a crisis in
the community caused by illegal immigration.

Now, according to Danbury police, 11 illegal aliens were arrested last month
as part of a sting operation by federal agents and Danbury officers. Now
nine of those arrested are suing the city and they claim their
constitutional rights were violated. A tenth individual from another case
has joined the suit.

They're being represented by a group of attorneys and law students from Yale
Law School.

And Simon Moshenberg is part of the legal team representing the men.

And he joins us now from Hartford, Connecticut.

Now, because of the litigation, the two sides in this dispute cannot appear
together on the program.

The mayor of Danbury will join us in a moment.

But for now, Simon, thanks for taking the time to discuss this with us.

You're one of the Yale law students representing the group of 10 people who
claim that the City of Danbury illegally arrested them and violated their
civil rights.

Why?

SIMON MOSHENBERG, YALE LAW STUDENT: Well, the City of Danbury, like many of
us, is frustrated with the state of federal immigration law. But the city
decided to take matters into its own hands and get into the business of
enforcing federal immigration law. And whether or not you think that's a
good idea as a policy matter, the fact is it's illegal under federal law.

PILGRIM: The mayor of Danbury, Mark Boughton, who's going to join us
shortly, made the statement in response to the lawsuit. I'd like to read it:
"The lawsuit is not just against the mayor and chief of police, it's against
the citizens of Danbury, who clearly want our laws enforced fairly and
firmly."

These individuals were illegal aliens and they were at a job site, an area
where illegal aliens congregate to be picked up to do jobs. And so they were
clearly looking for work, breaking the law.

Why couldn't they be arrested?

MOSHENBERG: Well, first of all, the immigration court has yet to decide
whether our clients are or are not legal or illegal.

PILGRIM: Well, one was deported, correct?

MOSHENBERG: Those are different individuals from the ones who are currently
filing suit.

The fact is that the federal law states that the federal government enforces
federal immigration law. Now, there's a program where if a city wants to get
involved in enforcing federal immigration law, the city can join this
program. And, in fact, the City of Danbury attempted to join this program a
few years ago and was denied permission from the state.

So the city has -- and, my understanding is that the mayor has recently
proposed attempting, again to join this program.

PILGRIM: That is correct. And -- but the Danbury Police Department say that
the ICE -- the immigration officers -- arrested the men, that they were
assisting with vehicles and in a not -- they did not do the arresting. So
that they didn't...

MOSHENBERG: Well, we...

PILGRIM: ...if the police department from the city did not involve
themselves in the arrest, what's the problem?

MOSHENBERG: We've got evidence to the contrary. For example, we have already
presented, in a different legal proceeding, Danbury booking reports that
list the name of a Danbury police officer, James Lolly (ph), as the
arresting officer. Moreover, aside from the fact that Danbury police are
federally prohibited from making these arrests, the way in which the arrests
were made also violates the Fourth Amendment of the constitution.

PILGRIM: Danbury police say they often assist federal agencies in their
operations and that this normal procedure.

MOSHENBERG: Well, there's a difference between assisting a federal agency
and making the arrest yourself and then turning someone over to the federal
agency. We're arguing -- and we think the court will find -- that what they
did in this instance crossed the line.

PILGRIM: All right, Simon Moshenberg, thank you very much for explaining
your side of the case.

MOSHENBERG: Thanks for having us.

PILGRIM: Joining me from the other side of the case is Mark Boughton, the
mayor of Danbury, Connecticut.

And thank you very much for joining us, sir.

MAYOR MARK BOUGHTON, DANBURY, CONNECTICUT: Thanks for having me.

It's great to be here.

PILGRIM: I know you could just hear that interview and let me just say that
the plaintiffs in this case are saying that your city does racial profiling.

What do you have to say to that charge?

BOUGHTON: Well, you know, it's just nonsensical. Look, we have a neutral and
fair application of our laws to all residents regardless of ethnicity, of
status, of religion, of any of those common things. And so, at the end of
the day, this is really about Yale sort of being the big bully in the state
with their large endowment, trying to control political speech and trying to
have a chilling effect on the debate about illegal immigration.

This is more about illegal immigration politics than it is about a point of
law. We're correct in the law, so we look forward to defending our position
vigorously in court.

PILGRIM: Let me just -- let me read from the lawsuit. And they say that your
department engaged in illegal law enforcement activities. "In their
frustration with the arrival of new immigrants in Danbury, Mayor Boughton
and the police department have taken the law into their own hands."

This a very broad charge. It seems to go way beyond the actual particulars
of this case.

What do you say to that?

BOUGHTON: Well, that's precisely my point. This lawsuit is not about the
arrests, it's about having a chilling effect on my First Amendment right
toward political speech. I've been actively involved in this debate about
illegal immigration for several years now. Yale doesn't like it. So they
feel that this a way in which they can silence myself and the administration
and millions of other people that are upset about this problem.

So, at the end of the...

PILGRIM: So, in effect, a test case, basically? BOUGHTON: Oh, no question
about it. And let me just tell you, because of that, we are going to
vigorously defend our position. And, again, in terms of point of law, we
believe we're correct.

PILGRIM: You know, the Danbury police, as I pointed out to Mr. Moshenberg,
do assist federal agents on occasion.

And how often do they assist ICE in such instances?

BOUGHTON: ICE is routinely in town every couple of weeks, executing search
warrants, looking for various individuals. It is our responsibility -- no,
let me just say it's our duty to assist ICE or the FBI or DEA or ATF or any
other federal agency. The strategic partnerships between local law
enforcement agents, state agents and federal agencies are the only way that
our laws can be enforced and the only way we can protect national security.

PILGRIM: Thank you very much.

Mayor Mark Boughton.

Thank you, sir.

BOUGHTON: Thank you.

And joining me -- we'll be right back in a moment.

Stay with us.